November 22, 2012

Tablet Sales Will Surge This Black Friday And Continue Throughout The Holiday Season

According to expert opinions, tablets will see a surge in sales this Black Friday in the U.S., and will enjoy the boast throughout 2013.

NPD's DisplaySearch said that tablets will be outselling notebooks in the U.S. in the fourth quarter in 2012, beginning a trend that will accelerate through 2013 as the new form factor starts to take on traditional computers.

The company projects 21.5 million tablets will be sold in the fourth quarter, compared to just 14.6 million notebooks and netbooks.

NPD claims its possible that whole tablet shipments in North America could pass notebooks in 2012. It also said that in 2013, tablets will outsell notebooks 80 million to 63.8 million.

The research company says that notebooks will continue to outsell tablets globally until 2015. At that time, the group predicts tablet sales will hit 275.9 million, while notebooks rack up just 270 million. The prediction takes into account notebooks, which make up about 70 percent of the PC market worldwide.

According to a report by The Guardian, IDC said in June 2011 that by 2015, PC shipments worldwide would be 543.5 million, 383 million of which would be notebooks. However, with the rise in tablet sales going viral, PC figures for 2015 have been downgraded since.

For 2013, IDC estimated that there would be 166 million tablets sold worldwide, and 391 million PCs, 235 million of which would be notebooks.

According to NPD, over 70 percent of U.S. households already have a PC, which essentially makes purchasing a PC less important than obtaining a tablet.

Price cuts to tablets will help to drive sales during the holiday season, with some of the touchscreen devices being sold for a fraction of their retail price. Another influence, according to NPD, will be the increasing number of tablet options available to consumers this holiday season.

The tablet market was predominately made up of Apple's iPad, holding about 65 percent of the market share in 2011.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association's "Pre-Black Friday Survey," as reported by eWeek, overall, 69 percent of U.S. adults will use a mobile connected device, such as a smartphone, tablet or cell phone. Nearly half of adults said they would use the device to get more information on products, both before going to the store and while in the store. Forty-four percent said they would use them to comparison shop and 39 percent said they will use their mobile devices to look up retailer information.